After a three-year absence, the Camp Buzz music festival returns to the Camp America grounds in Oxford on Friday and Saturday. The outdoor event began in 1994 and grew to become one of the cooler, Jam-friendly fests in the region. While previous years have featured many regional and national touring acts, this year's Camp Buzz (the 10th overall) is blissfully local music heavy and more eclectic than ever.
Friday's festivities start at 8 p.m. with Travelin' Barefoot, followed by Chicago's Starrunner, The Naked Redheads and, starting at midnight, the Windy City's Groovatron. Friday's performances are capped by a late-night jam session, which runs from 1:30 a.m. until "??" (that means very, very late).
Campers can crawl out of their sleeping bags at noon on Saturday, just in time to catch the opening set by the Comet Bluegrass Allstars. From there, revelers can see and hear Samsara Music Company, Blacklight Barbarian, Cats Walking Backwards, The Rumpke Mountain Boys, Grand Oversoul, The Terrors, Noctaluca, Maine's SeepeopleS, DJ crew The Animal Crackers and local legends Hogscraper, who hit the stage at midnight (another late-night jam is slated for 1:30 a.m. Saturday).
The festival is a part of the "EarthDance" global event, which links 150 cities and events in over 50 countries on Saturday. The goal of "EarthDance" is to sync up all of the events so that at 7 p.m. (our time) the "Prayer For Peace" is played simultaneously all over the world. (For more info, see earthdance.org)
As the name suggests, camping is encouraged: $25 gets you free camp space and admittance to the fest. For full details, go to campbuzz.com.
Hank's For the Memories
When you think of Hank Williams, Cincinnati might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But the grand musical legend has many ties to the Tristate, and a batch of local musicians have organized a special tribute show for this Saturday at Cooper's on Main to draw attention to them. Williams, who would have turned 82 on Saturday, recorded several songs at Herzog Studio, which was located downtown at 811 Race St. (now home to CityBeat). In the late '40s, Williams recorded "Lovesick Blues" (his first No. 1 Pop hit) and the classic "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (among other tracks) at Herzog, and also made appearances on WLW and WCKY. The event is also nicely timed to a new book by author Paul Hemphill -- Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams. The just-released biography reportedly features an entire chapter about Williams' time in town recording "Lovesick Blues," according to local musician Elliott Ruther, who organized the show with 500 Miles to Memphis frontman Ryan Malott.
Saturday's free show at Cooper's features music from Len's Lounge's Jeff Roberson, The Stapletons, Ruther, 500 Miles to Memphis and Straw Boss. Each rootsy-flavored performer will play some Williams' tunes as well as songs from their own catalog. Music starts at 9 p.m.
More Local Notes
· Saturday at the 20th Century Theatre in Oakley, local musicians unite for "Calm the Storm," a benefit for hurricane relief. The diverse bill features Tracy Walker, Robin Lacy and DeZydeco, The Goshorn Brothers, Kevin Fox, Chris Collier, Sonny Hill and the Nightshift, That Jazz Duo, Positive Reaction, Jazzmerizers and several other special guests. Music starts at 8 p.m. and all proceeds go to the American Red Cross.
· Local rockers Spindle, who parted ways with singer Grant Arnow just prior to their debut release for Triple Crown Records, have been reconstituted. The band's original guitarist, Brett Scharf, has soldiered on, hooking up with ex-Stain singer Tim Anderson and new bassist Chris Caudill. The new-look Spindle rerecorded their debut and will unveil the results on Friday when they play Downtown club alchemize with guests Fizzgig and 6Sigma. The show is the band's first with the new lineup.
· Local Hip Hop artist Mission Man (aka Gary Milholland) continues his "Playing for a Cure" benefit series with a concert at The Balcony in Oxford on Saturday. The show kicks off at 4 p.m. with Destro, and also features sets from The Fine Lines and Mission Man. The money raised goes to the American Cancer Society; Milholland started the series in honor of his mother, who died from cancer 10 years ago. (missionman.net)
· The Lumens, featuring ex-Cluck the Hen members Amy Cluxton and Jay Wilson, Culture Queer's Sam Womelsdorf and Rachel Cook, will give away a new three-song CD at their free show on Friday at the Northside Tavern.
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: mbreen(at)citybeat.com
